King (King, #1) by T.M. Frazier Series: King #1
Published by Self-Published on June 15th 2015
Pages: 303
Amazon
Homeless. Hungry. Desperate.
Doe has no memories of who she is or where she comes from.
A notorious career criminal just released from prison, King is someone you don’t want to cross unless you’re prepared to pay him back in blood, sweat, pu$$y or a combination of all three.
King’s future hangs in the balance. Doe’s is written in her past. When they come crashing together, they will have to learn that sometimes in order to hold on, you have to first let go.
Warning: This book contains graphic violence, consensual and nonconsensual sex, drug use, abuse, and other taboo subjects and adult subject matter. Although originally slated to be a standalone, KING is now a two part series.
I’ve read mediocre books that I’ve loved and well-written books that I didn’t enjoy. My opinions are completely subjective and influenced by my ever-changing moods on a given day. I know many people loved King and perhaps I just wasn’t in a receptive mood, but this missed the mark for me. I tried so hard to remain interested in the story, but felt an overall sense of detachment.
King was a puzzle to me—unfortunately, one that I was fairly ambivalent about solving. He freely admits he’s a bad man. His entire personality is steeped in violence and anger, even though he shows glimpses of tenderness. I was initially intrigued. What bothered me was that I couldn’t understand why King is so intensely attracted to Doe, or why he feels possessive toward his “pup” that he mistreats. He jerks Doe around so often that for the life of me I don’t know how she manages to fall for him. His mixed signals drove me nuts. He’s cruel to her then gentle; angry then loving; he pulls her close one minute and then pushes her away the next. View Spoiler » In the end, I simply didn’t like King enough to care about his pain, his loss, or his desires.
I thought King’s best friend, Preppy, was a far more interesting character. This faithful bow-tie wearing guy who swears like it’s his job, engages in the most perverted acts, and makes you pancakes while threatening your life, is strangely enough a more appealing hero than King. Preppy is creepy yet oddly charming, and frankly I would rather have seen Doe fall for him.
I can’t fault the quality of writing, but it’s impossible for me to fully enjoy a book when I can’t connect with the main character. I feel like I might be missing something, and King may very well appeal to those who like dark reads and badass heroes. For me though, this one falls in the didn’t love it, didn’t hate it category. It ends on a cliffy, and I’ll probably read the next book, Tyrant, at some point just to see how everything pans out.
Recommended for fans of:
Amnesia stories
Dark reads
Angst